Shikari

Story: Unable to ignite a spark in his married life, Raghu decides to go back to Mumbai to work. However, he tricks the village belle Savita into joining him, promising to give her a break in the film industry.

Review: Ever since the teaser poster of this film came out, Shikari has been generating buzz, primarily due to its bold visuals and dialogues. The film makes a statement about casting couch in the film industry and how young, aspiring actresses who want come to Mumbai are trapped by sexual predators from the industry. It’s a genuine concept on paper, but on screen, there are glaring issues with Shikari. Let’s get to the story first.


Raghu (Joshi) works as an assistant to a producer named Ajwani (Ganeshpure) but back home, his uncle (Kadam) boasts of him being a big Bollywood star. When he comes to the village for vacation, Raghu’s uncle arranges for him to get married to Phulwa (Deshpande). However, after their marriage, Phulwa’s childish behaviour and inability to understand consummation of the marriage stand as hurdles in Raghu and her relation. Tired of her behaviour, Raghu decides to go back to Mumbai and convinces Savita (Khan) a wannabe actress, to go with him. Savita agrees with the hope that her dream of becoming an actress will come true but little does she know that there are people waiting to exploit her.


Shikari’s biggest problem is that it contradicts what it aims to be by presenting the leading lady as an object of sexual fantasy. Agreed that the director makes it clear that Savita is innocent and gullible but how does showing her gyrating and moving around in the skimpiest of clothes justify its stand for young actresses in the industry? The film also tries to caution women by saying that almost all men are ‘shikaris’ who never miss jumping at an opportunity of having a sexual encounter with a woman. But the film has ample scenes which almost make this look like a normal thing!


The film is not a total waste though. There are certain mature scenes and those that make you angry at the way men perceive women. Additionally, the actors keep the tempo going. Debutants Suvrat Joshi and Neha Khan give their best. While Surat is convincing, Neha plays the gullible village girl well. The supporting cast, including Vaibhav Mangle and Kashmera Shah too, is filled with known faces and they do their jobs sincerely.


If you are willing to go without any great expectations and watch this one purely for what it is, you can buy a ticket for Shikari.